Hannah Hollis

Head of product, Kokoon Technology

London

Hannah is an experienced product specialist, GA instructor and accomplished ultra-marathoner, with a particular passion for behavioural science and digital healthcare . Her experience spans across a wide breadth of projects, supporting product teams in large multinationals (HSBC, Eastpak, Specsavers, BNP) before her trademark curiosity and resilience carried her into the wild, fast paced world of start up. She is the Head of Product at Kokoon Technology, responsible for the strategic direction and delivery of their data-driven sleep solution. Kokoon is a venture backed start-up having raised over £1.5million in crowdfunding for the Kokoon’s second wearable tech product - "Nightbuds" – smart, sleep monitoring headphones. She is a part-time instructional associate at General Assembly, teaching courses in both Product Management and Data Analytics, where her contagious enthusiasm for problem solving (and swapping a product war story or two) comes to life.

What is your favorite technical skill to work with on your own projects and why?

I love the process of formative product discovery - grappling with a large problem, and really understanding the domain, the market and above all human behavior to try and solve it. When I find a problem that i'm really passionate about, it's impossible to stop thinking about it! .

MVPs and product experimentation. Regardless of their product management experience, i've noticed many of our students feel stuck, or overwhelmed in their work - teaching how to work iteratively, breaking large initiatives small chunks, and experimenting as you go helps students to lean into uncertainty, get curious, and regenerate momentum in what was blocking them. This skill typically gets a lot of 'Aha!' moments which feels most rewarding.

The renewed confidence and enthusiasm our students take away at the end of the course.

I'm a huge advocate of learn-by-doing. Reading or watching a course sets a great foundation, but really get stuck in by applying those skills as your learning. It's what's so great about GA courses, working on live projects as you learn. My greatest advice is to keep students practicing beyond the course in professional, or personal projects, to keep close to the edges of their knowledge .

I've practiced and led teams at both ends of the spectrum - large, complex enterprises to small, early stage start ups. It's validated that there really isn't just one 'flavour' of product management and helps me apply and teach product management very practically in different contexts.

WHAT [Hannah’s] STUDENTS ARE SAYING...

"Hannah was incredible. I feel very lucky I got assigned to their class. They were adaptable, kind, informative, funny, engaging."